How big a deal will the World Cup be in Atlanta? It will be a big bad eight games over 31 days. No back to back games. There will be various ancillary events around town. How does this compare to the Olympics and a Super Bowl?
A Super Bowl is one sold out stadium event that culminates after seven straight days of lead up events, press conferences, fan experiences, concerts, etc. Dang the Falcons or Dawgs will draw two or three sellout crowds over the course of a month. The Braves will have ten sellouts in a month - or more.
The Olympics was 16+ consecutive days, with multiple sold out events being held at the same time all around downtown, all throughout each day. At the Olympic Stadium, Atlanta Stadium, Georgia Dome, Omni, Herndon Stadium, two aquatic venues at Georgia Tech, the Civic Center, Alexander Memorial Coliseum, and the World Congress Center. Plus the Olympic Village at GT and Centennial Olympic Park. And outlying venues at Stone Mountain, Conyers, Atlanta Beach, Athens, Savannah, Lake Lanier, and North Georgia. Cycling in the velodrome in East Point.
The Paris Olympics had 329 medal events across 32 sports and 48 disciplines. The 2026 World Cup will have 104 total matches spread out in 16 cities in the US, Mexico, and Canada.
People are saying 500,000 people are coming to Atlanta for the World Cup. But Atlanta is only hosting 8 games spread out over 30 days. Doing the math, that's 62500 fans at each game are from out of town. Sure the World Cup may be a big deal all around the world, but in the US it will be so spread out that the impact on any one city will be considerably diluted, unlike the Olympics all taking place in one city. The Braves have averaged 500,000 fans per month - for six straight months - without the help of MARTA.
There will be a World Cup FanFest in June and July in Centennial Olympic Park. I signed up for tickets. Interesting hours: from 2 pm - midnight. There will be concerts and food trucks and other vendors.
Which had the greatest impact on MARTA, the city streets, and highways? On the restaurants and hotels and airport? To me it’s a no brainer.
Perhaps FIFA followers are more fanatical than NFL fans or followers of the Olympics, but when it boils down to the impact it has on one city, I still say the World Cup ranks behind the Super Bowl and certainly the Olympics - and maybe even the Braves.
RUBE WADDELL [SABR Bio] was the first American League pitcher to strike out more than 300 batters in a season, with 302 in 1903 for PHA. His total the next year still stands as the record for American League strikeout record by a lefty. He struck out 349 in 1904; Sam McDowell is second with 325 in 1965. Waddell threw the first recorded Immaculate Inning, on 01-Jul-1902, Waddell struck out 3 batters, throwing exactly 9 pitches.
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